“What?” April asked, still completely cocooned.
“Well, you’reburrowingand Paramore’s ‘26’ is playing on repeat, so I’d say things are grim.”
“Well, Paramore feeds my brooding soul,” April said. The mattress dipped as Ramona sat down and placed a hand on April’s butt.
“That’s my ass,” April said.
“Good,” Ramona said, then slapped it hard enough to make April yelp. “Can you come up for air for a second?”
Hayley Williams continued to croon sadly about reality andheartbreak. April took a deep breath and slowly curled the blanket down to reveal her eyes only. Ramona smiled softly at her, dressed in a coral-colored sundress with a cinched bodice and tiny cherries printed all over the skirt. Her hair was down and cascading over her shoulders, and April realized how long it had gotten.
“You look so pretty,” she said.
Ramona smiled wider. “Thank you.”
“All of my clothes are at the cabin,” April said, wincing. “Including the wide-legged pants I was going to wear to this shower.”
Ramona waved a hand. “You can borrow something of Dylan’s.”
“Dylan is eight feet tall.”
“I think I would’ve noticed if that were true.”
April laughed. “My point stands.”
“We’ll find something that works,” Ramona said.
“You’re not worried your weird childhood BFF is going to embarrass you in front of your Hollywood friends?”
Ramona shrugged. “Actually, I’m counting on you to make me seem way cooler than I am.”
“I can start talking about auras and the alignment of the planets if you want.”
“Oh, please do. Then ask about everyone’s moon sign and read their horoscopes while we eat the tiny food Blair is having catered.”
“Only if the horoscopes are really dark.”
Ramona laughed, then her expression grew serious. “Tomorrow’s the big day, right?”
April’s chest tightened. Tomorrow was Ramona and Dylan’s wedding, but more relevant to April’s future and entire existence, tomorrow was decision time. At nine a.m., April and Daphne would stand quietly while Nicola analyzed their pieces for the Devon in the art room, then decided who she was taking to London. April viewed the event as though she was underwater—it felt blurry and unformed, lacking oxygen and light.
And she wasn’t sure what awaited her on the surface.
“It is,” April said.
Ramona nodded, then tilted her head, eyes narrowing a little. “She hasn’t called?”
April pressed her lips flat in answer.
Ramona sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything. It just means—”
“That Daphne Love has now leftmefor Elena Watson, bringing us full fucking circle.”
Ramona squeezed April’s thigh. “I was going to say itdoesn’tmean that. At all. Daphne’s been through a lot the past few months. She’s probably just—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” April said, sitting up and sending both of her hands through her hair. “Not because I don’t want to talk toyou. I just can’t deal with this right now. And it’s your day.Yourweekend. I really want to be present.”
Ramona nodded, then took April’s hand. “I know all of this—the engagement, the wedding, everything—isn’t exactly how you envisioned it. It’s not even howIenvisioned it.”
